Leadership Board Meeting Minutes

January 24th, 2011

Location: Sayles Hill Lounge

Co-Chair Report

Co-chairs Michael McNally and Andrea Nixon reported that they had recently met with The Tuesday Group, where they presented an overview of the CEDI charge. A concrete item that came out of the meeting was the charge that while CEDI should certainly help identify challenges, it should also celebrate all that has been accomplished. It was suggested that the Spring CEDI LTC Chili @ Noon session be used as a celebration/check-in session, with a discussion of campus climate topics such as faculty hiring and African American retention rate.

These issues and general conversation about the purpose and role for CEDI will be discussed at the Poster Session, which has been scheduled for February 17, from 2:30-4:30 pm, with a keynote speech from President Poskanzer at around 3:15.

Task Force/Action Team Reports

Cindy Blaha reported that the Task Force on Learning Environment in the Classroom has not been able to meet yet this term, but scheduling in the second half of term appears to be more promising. Separately from the Inside the Classroom Task Force, but still relevant to the Leadership Board, Cindy Blaha added that her role as a coach in the Intergroup Dialogue Pilot project has been going well. She was able to stay for her group’s opening discussion, and found the conversation to be quite remarkable. One problem that has been identified through anonymous feedback forms and regular meetings with the student facilitators, is the difficulty participants have had carving out the necessary physical and emotional space to truly delve into the most intense issues. Carolyn Fure-Slocum suggested that something about Intergroup Dialogue be present at the poster session. Cindy Blaha said she would seek permission from her group to use the non-identifying, anonymous quotes, which she has found to be quite powerful, in a poster.

Carolyn Fure-Slocum reported that the Sub-Task Force of Climate for Religious Students has been working on preparing for the March 1 LTC event. The panel will be composed of two faculty members and two students, followed by an open discussion of ‘best practices’. The Sub-Task Force of Climate for Students of Color has been working to develop a faculty mentor program and the Sub-Task Force on Social/Class Issues and the Sub-Task Force on Student Athletes has been working on gathering data and identifying agenda items.

Bill North reported that his group recently went to Macalester to meet with their Office of Student Affairs, where they talked about their grievance procedure models and discussed how something similar may be appropriate for Carleton. Bill North presented the group with an organizational flowchart, in the hope the visual aid will help the community navigate resources more effectively.

Julie Thornton reported that her group has been continuing their efforts to identify the salient points of their fundamental charge and keep their discussions and efforts on point. They have begun to focus on the idea of ‘collecting and connecting’; gathering the statements, events, etc. that deal with campus climate and connecting them in a meaningful way that is visible to the community, most likely on a website. Ultimately, action team thought that such a project would be better and more effective in the long term than just telling people what Carleton’s values are in a statement from the committee.

Name Changes

Bill North informed the Leadership Board that his committee felt that the title “Action Team on Community Concerns and Procedures” would better suit their goals. This name better suits the scope of the action team’s work, which has come to focus more broadly information and education, in addition to specific grievance procedures.

The name change was approved by unanimous voice vote.

Julie Thornton proposed that her Action Team’s name be changed to “Action Team on Campus Community Expectations”.

The name change was approved by unanimous voice vote.

Welcoming Environment Survey

Carolyn Fure-Slocum reported that this year’s Learning Environment Outside the Classroom Task Force had taken the Welcoming Environment report created by last year’s group to President Poskanzer, regarding how the suggestions should go forward. After a discussion of the specific document and a more general conversation about CEDI’s role in the larger governance structure of the community, it was decided that Carolyn Fure-Slocum would redraft the document and bring it back to the Leadership Board at their next meeting on February 7.